³ And ^(A)he told them many things in parables, saying: ^(B)“A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ⁶ but ^(C)when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, ^(D)they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among ^(E)thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some ^(F)a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ^9 (G)He who has ears,^[a] let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰ Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And he answered them, ^(H)“To you it has been given to know ^(I)the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ^12 (J)For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, ^(K)even what he has will be taken away. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables, because ^(L)seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, ^(M)nor do they understand. ¹⁴ Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

¹⁶ But ^(S)blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ^17 (T)For truly, I say to you, ^(U)many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

^18 (V)“Hear then the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of ^(W)the kingdom and ^(X)does not understand it, ^(Y)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. ²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately ^(Z)receives it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but ^(AA)endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^(AB)he falls away.^{[b] 22} As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ^(AC)the cares of ^(AD)the world and ^(AE)the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²³ As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and ^(AF)understands it. He indeed ^(AG)bears fruit and yields, in one case ^(AH)a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

²⁰ But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and ^(A)bear fruit, ^(B)thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

The Parable of the Sower

^4 (A)And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, ^5 (B)“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶ And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, ^(C)it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ And some fell among ^(D)thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. ⁸ And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded ^(E)a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, ^(F)“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

⁹ And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, ¹⁰ he said, ^(G)“To you it has been given to know ^(H)the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so ^(I)that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ ^11 (J)Now the parable is this: The seed is ^(K)the word of God. ¹² The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not ^(L)believe and be saved. ¹³ And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it ^(M)with joy. But these have no root; they ^(N)believe for a while, and in time of testing ^(O)fall away. ¹⁴ And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but ^(P)as they go on their way they are choked by the ^(Q)cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵ As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and ^(R)bear fruit ^(S)with patience.